Washington Wildcat Chat

As in past years, Washington families have supported our own Wildcat community helping make a difference during the holidays to those in need. Again this year, in addition to giving back to those in our own school community, Washington is expanding this initiative working with the Salvation Army to provide gifts for children in the larger Park Ridge community and surrounding areas.

Starting Monday, November 18th (a week before Thanksgiving break), we will have a snowman set up in the front office at Washington School. There will be paper mittens surrounding our snowman that contain a wish or a need for a single child. Each item is valued at $25-$50 and includes toys, games, clothes etc. We ask that all gifts be brought back to Washington’s front office by Monday, December 9th. We invite you to come to the front office and Lea or Michelle can assist in assigning you as many mittens you would like. Cash and or/gift cards will also be accepted. Please drop off at the front office and Lea or Michelle will make sure your gift goes to the right place.

If you may be holiday shopping over the fall break, please consider taking a mitten next week to bring along with you!

Thank you for supporting our community. Wildcats Give Back!

We would like to thank our Washington community for their generous donations to benefit Maine Township Food Pantry. As a school, we brought in around 5,670 items! It was wonderful to see so many students participate in the Spirit Week and come together to help our community.

We would like to congratulate the following classes for collecting the most items. Each of these classes will earn an extra recess:

• Ms. Figlioli’s SLC class

• Mr. Govis’ kindergarten class

• Ms. Ebert’s first grade class

• Mrs. Weil’s second grade class

• Mrs. Digiacinto’s third grade class

• Ms. Spaulding’s fourth grade class

• Mrs. Benjamin’s fifth grade class

Student council would like to thank ALL the classes again for the donations. We are so proud of our school community!

Our Lost and Found is overflowing! Please stop by the main office this week to claim any missing items. We will be donating any unclaimed items after the break, so please come and get them soon!

Chess-Ed is excited to return to Washington School to provide lunchtime chess instruction

this Winter. The 10-week program runs from 12/06/24 to 02/28/25 and takes place on

Fridays from 11:35 am to 12:30 pm (during lunch). The program is open to students in

all grades and of all chess abilities (including those in full-day and half-day Kindergarten).

Professional instruction will include the basics for beginner and novice players and build

with opening theory, middle game planning, and end game combinations for continuing and

advanced students. Playing chess improves memory, uses analytical and critical thinking

skills, teaches problem solving, responsibility, sportsmanship, social skills and more! The

benefits of chess last a lifetime!

To register, please go to https://2024-2025washingtonchess.eventbee.com/. Register

by 12/03/24 to take advantage of lowest available fee. For more information about the

program, please refer to this program flyer. Chess-Ed is looking forward to working with

your CHESS ENTHUSIAST this Winter!

District 64 staff---administrators, teachers, and support personnel--are currently reviewing the middle school structure, schedule, and programming. In order to make better informed decisions, we are asking for feedback from parents or caregivers. Please think about your child's current or future middle school experience and offer insight into the topics within the questions. Please keep the mission and vision statement in mind as you complete this survey.

Vision Statement:

• District 64 middle schools will provide a safe and nurturing environment where everyone is inspired to learn, collaborate, grow, and care.

Mission Statement:

• The middle school community of District 64 will foster a safe, supportive and inclusive school environment. The community will value diversity, student growth, social emotional learning, and respect for self and others. Staff, families, and community members will work collaboratively to empower middle school students through exploration, choice, and strong relationships while providing rigorous and differentiated curriculum that includes real-world learning experiences and extracurricular opportunities.

You can find the link here. This survey will close on Sunday, November 24th. We thank you for your time!

To gather your feedback, we're using a tool called ThoughtExchange. All of our voices matter, so your participation is crucial and valued. You'll be asked to respond to survey questions. In addition, you'll be asked to answer one open-ended question, consider and assign stars to some of the ideas shared by others (20 to 30 is ideal), and learn what's important to the group.

Your responses, thoughts and stars are confidential. You can come back as often as you'd like to participate and, in fact, we ask that you do come back to star some of the new ideas shared since you first participated. The ratings will help us understand the most important areas to focus on.

If you need technical help, please call ThoughtExchange at 1-800-361-9027 ext. 4 or email help@thoughtexchange.com.

As the warm weather approaches nearer, we wanted to provide a reminder about arrival and dismissal procedures. Please remember that the Kiss and Go lane is not for parking. This lane is intended for movement to assist with the flow of traffic on Western. When people park and leave their car, others are unable to drop off their children safely. It poses a safety risk when parents double park and have their children pass between vehicles. If you need to park, we encourage you to arrive early and park in the neighborhood. Thank you for your support in ensuring that traffic flows smoothly and students are safe.

All students in grades 3-8 are invited to participate in District 64's School Level Spelling Bees! The Washington Spelling Bee will take place on Thursday, January 16th in the MPR. The top three spellers at Washington will go on to compete at the District level in February.

The D64 Spelling Bees will follow the Regional Scripps Spelling Bee format, including both Spelling & Vocabulary Rounds. See this link for more information and details on how to register.

Join D64 and Dr. Devorah Heitner for a discussion on shifting the conversation from just “internet safety” to helping our kids understand who they are. Dr. Heitner is a global speaker on topics such as digital well-being, parenting, screen time, digital citizenship, mindful technology use, and raising empathetic children in a connected world.

The event is for parents/guardians and will be on Tuesday, December 3rd at 6 pm inside the Hendee Rooms at the Jefferson Early Childhood Center (8200 W Greendale Ave, Niles).

Click here to RSVP or scan the above QR code.Join D64 and Dr. Devorah Heitner for a discussion on shifting the conversation from just “internet safety” to helping our kids understand who they are. Dr. Heitner is a global speaker on topics such as digital well-being, parenting, screen time, digital citizenship, mindful technology use, and raising empathetic children in a connected world.

The event is for parents/guardians and will be on Tuesday, December 3rd at 6 pm inside the Hendee Rooms at the Jefferson Early Childhood Center (8200 W Greendale Ave, Niles).

Click here to RSVP or scan the above QR code.

• Holiday Gift Giving, November 18th - December 9th
  
• Report Cards Distributed, November 20th
• Fall Break (Thanksgiving), November 25th - 29th - NO SCHOOL
• Pizza Orders Open, December 1st - 15th
• Author Visit, December 6th
• Washington Holiday Sing, December 18th
• Griffin's Tales Submissions Due, December 19th
• Winter Break, December 23rd - January 3rd

Inspire all students to discover their strengths, embrace learning, achieve personal excellence, and demonstrate care. Students thrive in a rich, rigorous, and innovative curriculum delivered by highly qualified teachers. Each student learns and grows in a safe, nurturing environment. In collaboration with student, parents, teachers and the community, District 64 provides opportunities for each learner to investigate, be successful, be resilient, and become inspired and empowered as they contribute to our global society.